Haryana IAS officers become members of corpns they head,buy flats cheap

Incidentally,the 10 acres allotted at the rate of Rs 4,320 per square metre to SIDCO at IMT Manesar for construction of flats was acquired by the state under powers of compulsory acquisition vested under the Land Acquisition Act. The land was meant for development of an integrated industrial model township.

These details have been provided in response to a query under the Right to

Information Act.

The flats in Manesar,sources said,were sold for approximately Rs 24 lakh each — the market price in that area is much higher.

IAS officer Nanak Chand Wadhwa,who retired after serving as Chief Administrator,HUDA and Managing Director of Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC),got two flats allotted — one at the Panchkula complex and another at the Manesar society.

Wadhwa was heading the HSIIDC when its Board of Directors approved allotment of 10 acres to SIDCO in November 2004.

“Pursuant to a request from SIDCO,an agenda for allotment of land was brought before the Board of Directors of HSIIDC and the Board approved allotment of 10 acres of land at IMT Manesar to SIDCO in its 281st meeting held on 29.11.04,” the corporation admitted in its response to the query under the RTI Act.

Asked about the allotment,Rajeev Arora,Managing Director,HSIIDC,told The Indian Express that there was nothing wrong in it. “The decision had been taken before I joined the corporation. We did it on the pattern of the HUDA that had allotted land to its employees welfare society,” he said.

Asked how it had enrolled IAS officers as members of an employees welfare association,SIDCO secretary R P Gupta said: “There is a provision that Directors of HSIIDC can be members of the welfare association.”

When it was pointed out that IAS officers posted to the corporation were on deputation and,therefore,could not be considered employees while the association was meant for employees,Gupta said the name of the association was not relevant but the objective was.

Haryana Chief Secretary Urvashi Gulati declined to comment on the matter. Asked if an IAS officer could become a member of any employees body,she replied in the negative.

Anurag Aggarwal,Special Secretary (Personnel),said: “There is nothing illegal if an IAS officer takes a house in a housing society of the corporation where he is on deputation. He may become member of such a society and can take a house if rules of the society permit the membership.”

The response to the RTI query lists the names of these IAS officers who became members of employees associations to get apartments allotted for themselves: